Tomatoes
Oven-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
with Balsamic Vinegar and LemonThyme Confetti
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Equipment: colander, clean kitchen towel, medium-sized bowl, baking
1½ tablespoons extra virgin
sheet with sides, measuring spoons, cutting board, chef’s knife, pot
olive oil
holders, spatula, serving dish
3 teaspoons balsamic
vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup lemon-thyme leaves
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Put the tomatoes in a colander and rinse them in cool water. Dry them with
a clean kitchen towel.
Place the tomatoes in a medium-sized bowl and drizzle them with the extra
virgin olive oil. Using clean hands, rub the tomatoes in the oil until they are
all lightly coated.
Add the balsamic vinegar and salt to the bowl and toss the tomatoes again
until they are coated.
TOMATOES
For the best-tasting tomatoes, pick them just before you are ready to
use them. Once you bring them into your house, store them in a cool,
dry place, but never refrigerate them. Refrigeration will make their texture mealy and will rapidly destroy their flavor.
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Place the tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet with sides.
Place the pan on the lower rack of the oven and bake the tomatoes for approximately 25 minutes, until they look wilted and their edges begin to turn brown.
While the tomatoes are roasting, remove the leaves from the lemon-thyme
stems, pulling the leaves from the top down. They should slide right off the
stems.
You can use fresh rosemary
instead of lemon thyme. Pull
the rosemary leaves from
their stems and finely mince
them as they tend to be
fibrous.
When the tomatoes are fully roasted, use pot holders to remove the baking
sheet from the oven. Use a spatula or large spoon to transfer the tomatoes to
a serving dish. Sprinkle them with the lemon-thyme leaves.
Serve immediately or at room temperature.
Serves 4
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